what we all understand is that we've got so much more to do. >> and while the president cast the long view on a difficult recovery, his rival, mitt romney, wasted no time pouncing on the jobs report this morning, step on to a hastily constructed podium in new hampshire and retreading his most familiar lines. >> three quarter of small businesses say they are less likely to hire people because of obamacare. remember, the president at the beginning of his term predicted that if he was able to put in place his stimulus and his other policies that they would be able to keep unemployment below 8%. >> yes, you remember those. his favorite lobbyist survey from the chamber of commerce. his favorite lie about the president's nonexistent promise. it is amazing how many

falsehoods romney can fit into a ten-minute statement. this morning, it was the president who cut short our boredom in ohio by offering a more concise and accurate picture of mr. romney and the republicans' economic plan. >> basic idea is if everybody's just on their own doing what they do, everything's going to turn out just fine. now, it's a theory. but i think it's wrong. i think it's wrong. and the the reason i think it's wrong is we just tried it. >> indeed, we did. but can the president count on jogging voters famously fickle memories and win over those who hold his future in their hands come election day? let's get right to our panel in washington. karen finney, who's now a columnist for the hill as well

as msnbc political analyst, richard wolffe and with me here in new york, we're delighted to have msnbc analyst, michael eric dyson. richard, the president made the point there have been 4.4 million new jobs created in 28 mont months. but in the interest of complete transparency, isn't the hidden story here that he has not been able to action job creation because republicans in congress have opposed every single jobs plan every single jobs act that he's put before them? >> well, remember, they also opposed the stimulus act in the first place. they've been against every measure to deal with what was the worst financial and economic crisis in living memory and that's had an impact on the margins. there are bigger forces at play

even than the squabbling washington, but where the public sector has been hurt jobs is public sector jobs. this idea that austerity is the most important thing, that you've got to shrink is size of government has let directly to the kind of job losses that have kept this unemployment rate higher than it should be today. if the republicans say they know about business, they know about the free market, then they should also know that after every single financial crisis anywhere in the rld, any point in history, recovery is slower. people are afraid and employers are slow to hirement that's what we're seeing here and across the world. >> richard, you should never invoke history with some of these people. professor, the president remains relatively optimistic. he says the recovery is slow. we're not there yet, but when you listen to mitt romney and speaker boehner, they sound such a pessimistic note and the president seemed to explain that today. >> jobs aren't growing as fast as they need to and it's all obama's fault. that's basically their only message.

now, you know, i guess this is a plan to win an election, but it's not a plan to create jobs. >> and that's right, isn't it? that their sole critique involves saying he's useless, he's failure, but have you heard the republican idea for job creation that sounded persuasive and workable? >> not even half an idea. it's so critical here to understand the resistance, the considered, concentrated defiance of this president has led to di sas rouse -- in the economy. they want to go on board and yet have nobody to steer the vessel. as my pastor used to say, you've been liberated into bondage. they want to free us to become the slave of their narrow ly -- the public, they shredded this economy in a fireman and

policeman. they're opposed to that and yet claim to represent the average american here and stood tooth and nail against this president as he sought to bring back recovery. this is a disappointment of expectation. not of achievement. this man has added jobs to the economy for the last 25, 26, 27 months. that's extraordinary given what he's inherited. if we take the long view, he certainly is the person who's keeping his word, but the republicans have made sure he doesn't do it. >> indeed. karen, have you ever witnessed the presidential campaign based not on the candidate's on ideas, not his carefully thought through visions of the country, but based almost entirely on the monthly jobs report, which is what mitt romney seems to be doing? >> he is. he figures like he said, if he can just keep talking about the economy, that's what he thinks he can win on. but today, he gave us some interesting fodder. he made the point himself when he was governor of massachusetts, he referenced some of the same types of things

that you can't control that will happen in terms of you know, the numbers go up and down and he said what you have to do is look at the trend. so, i say let's look at the trend. the trend from president obama is consecutive months of job growth, 4.4 million new jobs, 500,000 in manufacturing despite what mitt romney tells you and let's look at mitt romney's record as governor of massachusetts. he brought unemployment downy what? self-deportation. also was 47th in job creation. i say we take him on on that and let's compare records. >> republicans love to champion as you know, taking an ax to federal government, arguing over who would cut more government workers, but over the past year, the country has shed nearly 170,000 public workers. i mean, that's the problem, isn't it? >> look, unemployment in t private sector has come down to

the point where there's a net gain of jobs and the president didn't express it very artfully, but there is no question that the conservative drive to cut spending has hurt employment and they've got a case they make which is if you cut spending, somehow you're going to create jobs. well, it doesn't. it loses jobs. keeps unemployment high. it's not the only factor by any means. public sector is just a small piece of it. we need private sector jobs to come out of it. it's curious that republicans say you know, we've got to get spending in line. we've got to get everything in order. we don't care how many jobs we lose, but when it comes to tax cuts, we can go back to bush tax cuts and cut them even further than that and it doesn't matter about how we bust the the budget there. >> professor dyson, i was think ing about what richard was saying just then about austerity. we look at europe. 11 countries out of 48 currently in recession. the unemployment rate in europe

is over 11% yet when i look at romney's plan for the nation, it mimics what's happening in europe. if we were to adopt their policies, would employment go up or down? >> it could skyrocket. they claim not to like french fries and everything else from europe, yet their mimics almost to a tee the policies that have failed. but they think this is a -- worm. you cut it off and it just growing automatically. all these jobs. the exportation of jobs as president obama said i'm about insourcing, not outsourcing. mitt romney is trying to base the economy on his own personal fortune. all of these offshore accounts is where his fortune explorations if you will are going. so the money is swinging overseas, but nothing is come back and he's not doing anything

about what's here. as you said earlier, the point is he has no idea. he's not doing it right. what do you have to say i'm telling you obama's not doing it right. nothing. >> health care reform, silence. karen. >> he says he's got his 59 point an don't forget. >> it's unbelievable. >> but you know, a very point important point. mitt romney says i know how to bring jobs back. he's saying give people like me more tax breaks and we'll incentivise and bring the jobs back and he talks about wanting to close certain loopholes, but since we can't see his full tax returns, how do we know he's not benefitting from the same things he's going to cut. in other words, how do we know we can trust him? the the idea of his integrity and transparency are going to be part of the narrative. at the end of the day, it's going to come down to who do you trust on the economy.

>> the mystery of mitt's millions. please stay with us. next, more of a contrast in style and substance. stay with us. >> i had a -- so i'm feeling good. >> i would like to take this opportunity to express my fondness for dove beer. >> i'd also like to express my fondness for that particular beer. >> the man never drank a duff in his life. unner,marathon r in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... he was just... "get me an aspirin"... yeah... i knew that i was doing the right thing, when i gave him the bayer. i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. so he's a success story... [ laughs ] he's my success story. [ male announcer ] learn how to protect your heart at i am proheart on facebook.

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more now on the president's bus tour from ohio to pennsylvania. kristen welker is traveling with the president and joins us from pittsburgh. the president is wrapping up his

bus tour today an given the less than brilliant job numbers, has this dampened his spirits or do you detect an even greater determination? >> reporter: well, certainly there is a determination. campaign officials will tell you that the president is realistic about these things. he knows that the recovery is going to take a long time. having said that, it's hard to imagine there is not some disappointment. what better way to have wrapped up his first official campaign bus tour than with a robust jobs report. that didn't happen, so it put him on the defensive when he spoke to people today. having said that, he got a really warm reception here in these two key battleground states. these two states he carried in 2008 and which he's hoping to hold on to. he's stuin these reliablely blu areas and he's here to really rally their support to make sure

they turn out at the polls in big numbers so he can hold on to areas like pittsburgh, which will be key to holding on to pennsylvania. so i imagine there are probably some mixed emotions on air force one tonight, but i do think that the president did strike a determined tone as well. >> i think there was something like 6,500 people in the crowd. this bus tour is only the beginning because the president travels to iowa i believe on tuesday? the campaign is going to start picking up pace for them there, isn't it? >> reporter: it is. this marks the beginning of this campaign rlly shifting into a higher gear, martin. we are exactly four months until election day as of this very day, so president obama not really completely engaged. he's going to iowa next week. another important battleground state that the obama team believes is going to be key to winning in 2012 and you're going to see a lot more of this. the the president on the road almost every week. he'll also be doing a lot of

retail politicking. shaking a lot of hands. >> kristen, you'll be with us all the way through to that election. so thanks so much and safe travels to you. and as the president presses on while mitt romney peddles doom and gloom as we said, the campaign trail is alive with the sound of two very different messages. >> we have seen the jobs report this morning. and it is another kick in the gut to middle class families. >> we've got to have somebody who's fighting for you. >> the amount of pain which is occurring. >> somebody who's thinking about how to grow the economy from the middle out. >> this kick in the gut has got to end. >> not from the top down. that's why i'm running for a second term f president. >> the president gets fired up and ready to go while mr. romney does his best to demoralize the electorate.

funny strategy there, but a weak candidate has to play to his strongest card. now, let's say hello to the panel again. richard, one of the first things one learns about united states politics is that optimism is actually a very, very important ingredient. you know, morning in america and all of that. but if that's the case, why is romney bringing such pessimism? i learned that as an immigrant, too. it really does have this optimism and sense of hope and the candidates who win and watching george w. bush do this through two elections, express confidence and faith in america's future. now, there are r plenty of bromide patriotism in romney's speeches, but the core argument he has is negative. and this is very much the framework the democrats had in 2004 about a different problem,

the war in iraq. then you had a president who said i know this is tough, but we've got to stick with it, stay the course and we're going to make it to victory. now, the fs a weird looking victory for him, but that was his sales pitch and you had john kerry saying this is terrible, a disaster. i don't know where i stand or where i did before or where i'm going to stand, but in any case, it's going really badly. people would rather have somebody saying i know this is tough, but i have a way out and america always finds its way out. that's where we're seeing in mirror image today. >> karen, as we said, it's a study in contrast today on the campaign trail and there's one area it's stark. just in terms of pure optic, how does an image like the one we saw of the president in ohio stack up next to mr. and mrs. romney on their jet-ski? interesting that mr. romney always enjoys theshow.

he never drives himself. >> mrs. romney driving that jet-ski. >> absolutely. >> just to tag on to what richard was saying about the comment about the beer. here's what president obama is doing. he's talking about his american story in a narrative that's your story is my story. we share the same story. i can sit here and have a beer with you in the middle of ohio and i know what it was like to be able to take a family vacation and get on the greyhound bus and go to howard johnsons, but also, trying to relate his story to the story of millions of americans where as mitt romney is more saying and also, obama is still saying we can do this together because i believe in you. where as mitt romney is saying i can fix everything. feel your pain. i understand what you, you are going through and i -- and i can fix it. i'm going to fix it for you.

and to be honest, i love hillary clinton, but that was part of what she was trying to do last time and i think people want to be a part of something in a campaign. tha part of the optimism that president obama brought in 2008 and what motivated people the first time and i think will again. >> do you agree with that? sfwl absolutely. i think part of the problem here is the presumption of political omniscience. we're down here on the ground. we're not looking up there. you're assuming that you come in with your tools and your toolkit and get out of the way and let a better man fix the thing. >> he created 150,000. made $250 million. >> mostly for himself. that economy for yourself is different than an economy for a country. you can be a selfish entrepreneur who is able to accumulate cash, but you do it at the expense of the american economy and the health of most of the people now you claim to

want to represent. now you want to replenish it. that's a devastating kind of political maneuver and i think that mrs. finney is right. obama's saying i'm one of you u. i come from the same conditions despite all the other stuff that the republicans have tried to do to make him look like a guy from another planet, he is not the brother from another planet. he's the brother from your mother's planet. he's here with you, understands your pain, does it from within and can have a wink and a nod with a beer and can do a lot more than mitt romney with his robotic attempt to try to identify with another. >> i'm sorry, i wish we had more time, but thank you so much. next, louisiana is in such great shape, it's governor is taking a bus tour of his own. stay with us. ok! who gets occasional constipation,

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possible to feel sorry for mitt romney. for all his material assets, mr. romney still has to rely on people like bobby jindal to go out and defend him. the governor of louisiana has taken to the road today and yesterday delivering jabs at the president's record in office. in mr. jindal's case, shouldn't his game be in louisiana? i mean, he really does have b bigger cat fh to fry. nearly one in five people in louisiana don't have health insurance. mr. jindal doesn't have any intention of using the supreme court's decision to extend coverage and that's not your state's only disorder, mr. jindal. if you traps around the president's bus, reside in the most violent state in america. number one in this dubious ranking for the last 20 yes. well done. as for education, near the bottom. obesity levels, near the top.

pollution, plenty. so, why is mr. jindal in pennsylvania today instead of louisiana? we actually called the governor's office in baton rouge to find out and a staff member told us quote, we don't know why we're going and in that, mr. jindal's staff is not alone. stay with us. the week's top lines are coming up. and oh, what a week it was. we get to the emergency room... and then...and then they just wheeled him away. i had to come to that realization that "wow, i am having a heart attack." i can't punch this away. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to you doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm a fighter and nowadays i don't have that fear. [ male announcer ] learn how to protect your heart at i am proheart on facebook.

from ice cream socials to corner bars, fireworks, jet-skis and steel wheels, here are the week's top lines. lemon. wet, good. >> we will finish what we started in 2008 and we will mind the world why america is the greatest nation on earth! >> this kick in the gut has got to end. as long as i continue to speak about the economy, i'm going to win. >> i'm betting you're not going to lose heart. i'm betting on you. >> gambling is illegal, sir and

i never slide. >> cheers. >> a brew. >> i had a beer in amherst, so i'm feeling good. >> anything mr. romney says this week is bound to be drowned out by the high decibel roar of the jet-ski. >> when you're running for office you've got to do things differently. >> the governor believes that what we put in place in massachusetts was a penalty and disagrees that the mandate was a tax. >> it was a tax. >> the mandate is not a tax. >> yes, it is a tax. >> it's a tax and it's constitutional. >> precisely what i said, but i stand by whatever i said, whatever it was. >> if you listen to those gop pinheads, you don't know what their strategy was. >> it was kill romney. not when i'm next to him you better not. >> thank you very much and i'm sorry for the idiot over there.

>> idiot. >> he says the president's out of touch. how many of y'all have a swiss bank account? >> 30 of us running around the house, we look at each other, gosh, our love really started something, didn't it. >> this is when america is at her best. she'll never see us coming. >> let's get right to a very special guest. he's chris hayes and author of a wonderful new book, twilight of the elites. an often unfavorable look at the mechanisms of americans. good afternoon to you, sir. you heard glenn beck be afraid. very afraid. what's he talking about? >> i don't know. >> good answer. reading your book, i can't help thinking about mitt romney and the way he's defined his success an the way it presents itself.

we followed "vanity fair," that have looked at the bermuda triangle, swiss bank accounts. explain to me how that is an american success story? hiding funds for 15 years. how is that an example of american success? >> in this way. in the current success we have, which basically says you do what it takes to get to the top and then you are rewarded with outside payments, massive amounts of wealth and a disparity that we haven't seen in about 100 years and anything you do within the narrow confines of the letter of the law is okay. that there are no normative mormo moral expectations o the way you conduct yourself. while a lot of the stuff was happening was illegal, a lot was

legal, it was just wrong. and this distinction is a very important one and it's one conservatives particularly still hold. very conservative idea in that there are certain kinds of standards. >> integrity. here's mitt romney talking about his taxes during a january gop debate. >> the most extensive disclosure that i made was the financial disclosure requirements under the law. i pay all the taxes legally required and not a dollar more. >> his definition of success seems to be you never break the letter of the law, but you also never honor it, either. >> you honor it in so far as you comply with it. >> anything illegal. no one's implying that, but do you get the impression that this is a man who following it to the letter, but not in spirit? >> yes, that's the whole reason that offshore accounts exist, strange tax products exist, precisely for that reason.

i think he gets to this question of we're going to talk about this on my show this weekend. >> how dare you promote your own broadcast on mine. >> what's really interesting to me, that idea stating the norm, i pay every dollar youeded and not a dollar more. what do you do to lower your tax burden and what kind of feeling do we have as a people, watching a campaign and evaluating all sort of things about candidates. their love lives, the way they've conducted their business affairs. what is our collective expectation and i think it would be great if we had a conversation about that. in mitt romney's world, he pays 15% in tax. >> most of his income. >> but a manager at mcdonald's pays double than that. and that's fine? >> look, not only do we have this individual context of how

people of tremendous wealth are able to gain is system, legally, we have the lowest rate we've had since 1993, right? when they were raised under clinto as a percentage of gdp, tax revenue as a whole is the the lowest it's been since the 1950s. they're down around 8%. we have seen everything. the inheritance taxes. everything that hits people at the top has been reduced from a policy standpoint. then above that has been erected an entire industry of tax evasion, which uses all kinds of expertise to create vehicles expressley created for the intent of reducing tax burden. that's atop the policy structure. >> and that results in massive deficit. he says he will revolve by

investing in the military, cutting taxes. explain that. >> it's ridiculous. the deficit exists because there's two part of the ledger and if you -- ripping off one part and setting it aside, it's a test of a functioning state. whether it can collect taxes. this is actually a basic developmental action that you ask of states. look at greece. this is a test for america. can we collect taxes from people at the top of the social pyramid and change policy to make the tax code more fair? these are vital questions of what the future american government can do. >> and mitt romney has said nothing about any of those. >> he has spoken through his anchors. >> chris hayes, saturday and

sunday mornings, thank you, sir. next, karl rove wastes no time hitting the president on jobs. a new $25 million ad buy to spread some cheer. stay with us. ople have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

today's tepid job numbers seem to have been welcomed by republicans who strongly believe they'll do well in november if the country does badly. so it was no surprise to see karl rove's crossroads xwr prk gps release a new ad this morning. >> head winds coming from europe. an earthquake in japan. an arab spring. >> but obama never blames washington's spending and skyrockets debt. >> but the president appeared to be expecting this latest. >> you've got the super pacs,

billionaires writing $10 million checks. just pouring, raining down on my head. no, this is all right because i'm -- >> julianna glover is a republican strategist, julian epstein is a democratic strategist, good afternoon to both of you. according to karl rove, crossroads gps is not a super pac. instead, a social welfare organization. if that's true, where are they getting $25 million for a tv ad blitz and why don't they just reveal their donors? >> that's a good question. we've heard of the march of dimes. we've never heard of the march of billionaires. it's so ironic that this party doesn't you said the difference between an irs penalty on the one hand context of the health care debate and a direct tax.

it goes to a more important narrative. david axelrod said that mitt romney is one of the most secretive presidents or secretive candidates since nixon and here's a candidate that doesn't want to turn over his tax returns and now wants to comento office on the heel of his super pac system where billionaires can fund his essentially fund his campaign through dark shadows and never have to disclose it. in this latest effort by rove isn't only legally wrong, but tells you about the kind of government that conservatives and republicans are give you. one that's run by special interests and one you won't know anything about. >> rove's social welfare organization announced a $25 million ad buy just moments after the job numbers are announced. >> and first of all, it couldn't be a more easy target. those job numbers are completely bad.

>> i understand that. could we let -- >> the american people -- very -- >> let's -- >> jump right into that. priorities u.s.a., a obama -- >> again, i'm so sorry, i'm going to have to interrupt you because you've just, you've offered me two answers, neither of which has anything to do with the question i asked you. i'm very happy for you to deliver lectures on the subject of priorities u.s.a. or jobs nurls. >> there's not i watt to answer the question. i'm asking you about a social welfare organization. now, what is that that manages -- >> the definition of a 501 24 -- >> $25 million today as the jobs numbers are announced. can you just explain that to me because i don't understand it. >> $25 million thrown at obvious

problems that the american people truly graps and want to hear more about. why is this economy so stuck in the mud? why is it employers are not hiring. another very interesting analysis coming out of today's numbers was that it wasn't just the clouds in europe, but the fact that the administration is not doing anything about the fiscal -- >> i'm so sorry, i'm going to have to cut you off because i'm going to have to introduce julian because you've now offered me a trifecta of diversions. >> we can have a debate about whether the obama policies are working or not. karl rove is using a ruse, calling in fact what a super pac a 501 c3, sorry, c4. you do not have to report what

you're spending money on or your donors. the committee is about secrecy. whey are we manipulating the laws so these billionaire donors can fly under the cover of night, do not have to disclose who's behind these special interest efforts. you've got that in comparison to the obama administration whose has been transparent on every aspect. >> thank you very much. julianna, please. >> okay, you all are clearly taking direct orders from the general counsel at the the obama campaign. >> please stay on point. please answer the question. why are they using a ruse -- they're after years of saying he was -- and have nothing to do with taking large amounts of money. >> julianna, i was talking about

karl rove, but unfortunately, that is your fifth opportunity and we have to call it a day. so, thank you for not answering the question and julian, thank you. next, does romney have the right tools to fix the economy? stay with us. concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. new tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] fast relief, fresh breath, all in a pocket sized pack. [ male announcer ] it started long ago. the joy of giving something everything you've got. it takes passion. and it's not letting up anytime soon. at unitedhealthcare in, we understand that commitment. and always have. so does aarp, an organization serving the needs of americans 50 and over for generations. so it's no surprise millions have chosen

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mitt romney did something very rare today. something he doesn't appear to like doing. he talked policy with actual report es. take a listen. >> i don't say much to critics. i put up 59 steps for how i'd get the economy going and i don't think i've seen any from the president. i've laid out my 59 steps and take a look at them. i think you'll find them very specific. >> take a look at them. okay, we will. joining us now is "the washington post" ezra klein, a man who possesses one of the biggest brains in america. we've all seen the video of mitt

talking about the economy, but rare is it that he also takes questions about his 59 points jobs plan. he says the president has released, i'm quoting him, no jobs plan of detailed as his own, but neither of that statement is true. >> right. mitt romney does have a 59 point jobs plan ch i have read it. >> so have i. >> now, mitt, barack obama had the american jobs act, which in addition to having 41 points, 400 plus page piece of legislation. >> 432 pages. >> vastly more specific than anything romney had put forth. as far as mitt romney does not know that barack obama put forth a specific jobs plan, it's usually suggesting he's not been paying attention to presidential politics and if he's not been doing that, i kind of wonder what he's doing. >> do any of the major portions of his plan help create jobs

here and now in the immediate future? i'm talking about the 59 point mitt romney plan. >> his plan is primarily focused on long-term questions and one way you saw that, the four he mentioned to reporters were he wanted to open up more trade with latin america. crack down on china. cut the corporate tax rate and he wanted to do is keystone xl pipeline and other assorted energy deals. you could argue whether or not they're good policy or not. they're not jobs here and now. the main part of the american jobs act are hiring people to do instruction work, hire back teachers, policeman, firefighters and possibly add to the role, doubling the payroll tax cut and also a large employer tax cut when you hire new work es. it is easier to see how these create new jobs. the interesting thing about these two plans, you could implement them both without any real fear of contradiction on

either side. obama's is short-term, get jobs moving now. mitt romney is a long-term tax budgetary and regulatory environment in which jobs would be created in the future. >> okay, there isn't a tax even at a cursory glance that romney doesn't want to eliminate, but i had a tough time trying to find ouhow he pays. >> very briefly, he has told cnbc's -- he has not said at all you how pay for any of it and there's no way he'll be able to pay r for it and in order to make the numbers up, they will assume tons of growth creating magical new revenues. >> thank you, sir, for joining us. we'll be right back to clear the air. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain.

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it's time now to clear the air and after one of the longest and most arduous searches in living memory, we are slowly getting closer to a singular truth that may unlock what has been hidden for ages. no, i'm not talking about the subatomic particle known as the higgs boson, i'm talking about mitt romney's secretive investmen investments. he did eventually release his 2010 tax returns which showed he paid a rate of just 14% on over $22 million of income. but compare that to his father who released 12 year of tax returns and george w. bush, who released 17 years worth of financial details. having offered a bare minimum, we then learned that mr. romney asked for an extension, which means we're unlikely to learn

anything about that until just before or after the election. he seems to want to live by the letter of the law, but not by spirit. here's how he put it when talking about his tax returns this year. >> i pay all the tacks that are legal taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. >> i pay all the taxes that are legally required. eugene robinson put it so eloquently, in making his money, romney appears to take every imaginable inch that the law arguably allows. but slowly and surely, we started to learn more about this candidate's investments. that he had swiss bank accounts. that he's placeded money offshore in the cayman islands and now, we're learning about an offshore company in bermuda called high yield asset investors limited, that has been

invisible for almost 15 years. who knows what else we'll discover in the weeks ahead. but one thing is absolutely certain. mitt romney will go down as one of the most secretive presidential candidates in history. and you have to ask yourself this singular question. after all that's happened throughout the last year, this singular question. why? thanks so much for watching. "hardball" starts right now. numbers game. let's play "hardball." i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews. spin cycle. it's become a monthly ritual.

weaker than excted numbers come out, the president says he's making progress and so it was today when we learned that only 80,000 jobs were created last month an the unemployment rate held firm at 8.2%. how's it going to play in november? despite the weak jobs numbers, republicans arnervous that mitt romney is kicking away a winnable election. it began with a tweet from rupert murdoch and now a lot of conservatives who never liked romney are saying i told you so. also, remember when pennsylvania's republican house majority leader said voter i.d. laws would help mitt romney w the election? here's what he was talking about. a new study shows that three quarters of a million people in the state don't have the proper identification and most of them are likely democratic voters. and not even scarlet ohara said the name ashley so much. >> look,